Thailand Live Thursday 21 Jun 2012

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Thailand Live Thursday 21 June 2012

News, Bits and Tweets

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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

For breaking news, national, regional and international news updates on a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those who wish to follow the news can find it here...

Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

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THAILAND'S GOT TALENT

BEC fined for bare breasts on show

WATCHIRANONT THONGTEP,

PAKAMARD JAICHALARD

THE NATION

NBTC decides on top penalty because producers guilty of not censoring show

BANGKOK: -- Channel 3 operator Bangkok Entertainment Company (BEC) has been fined Bt500,000 by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) for allowing a female contestant to paint on canvas with her bare breasts on the Sunday episode of its prime-time show "Thailand's Got Talent".

Full story:

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Nod for Nasa project hangs in the balance

Somroutai Sapsomboon,

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation

Plodprasob says study on the need for Parliament debate will take time; questions intentions of Democrat Party

BANGKOK: -- Nasa's request to base its weather-research project at the U-Tapao airbase appeared to have hit a snag as the government and the opposition remained at loggerheads over the legal response under the Constitution's Article 190.

Full story:

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Ranong hill to be checked for cracks

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Mineral Resources Department will examine a limestone hill in Ranong after it cracked and sent nine big rocks hurtling down.

Full story:

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EC red cards Pheu Thai MP Karun for slander

The Nation

MP vows to fight case in court while Democrat complainant Tankhun says he will contest the resulting by-election

BANGKOK: -- The Election Commission, with a majority vote, yesterday decided to give Bangkok's Constituency 12 MP Karun Hosakul a red card, withdrawing his election rights. The commission ruled Karun guilty of slandering Democrat candidate Tankhun Jitt-itsara during the election campaign.

Full story:

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NBTC

NBTC panel to finalise reserve price

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's telecom panel will finalise the reserve price for 2.1-gigahertz spectrum slots next Tuesday, a week later than it had planned.

Full story:

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41 swine flu cases confirmed in Nakhon Ratchasima

PRASIT TANGPRASERT

THE NATION

A NURSE injects a patient with an A (H1N1) vaccine at the Nakhon Ratchasima Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital in the wake of a fresh outbreak of swine flu.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: -- Yesterday 41 persons were confirmed as infected with the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) at Nakhon Ratchasima Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital in the Northeast.

Full story:

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EDITORIAL

What's being done to stop another massive deluge?

The Nation

The government's big talk about flood-prevention measures seems to have dissipated even though the monsoon season has already begun

BANGKOK: -- The rainy season is upon us, but the government has yet to feel the urgency, even though last year's massive flood disaster is still fresh in the memory.

Full story:

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TELL IT AS IT IS

Breast-painting on the tube: Is this much ado about nothing?

Pornpimol Kanchanalak

The answer is a resolute "Not".

BANGKOK: -- For the second time in a month, several friends from overseas have written to express their disbelief and bafflement. Their confusion was caused by what they saw on two episodes of a popular TV talent show in Thailand that caught their eye on the Internet.

Full story:

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THAI TALK

The 'Rashomon effect' haunts the political scene

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- How serious is the split between some Pheu Thai MPs and certain red-shirt leaders over the future of their common chieftain, Thaksin Shinawatra?

Full story:

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10% of working Thais ill: survey

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri yesterday said one in every 10 working-age Thai suffers from a chronic disease. As a result the ministry has launched a health promotion campaign to reduce risk among the country's 40 million people aged 15-59.

Presiding over the project launch in Ayutthaya yesterday, Wittaya cited a 2009 report showing that one in 10 working people suffered a chronic disease. The top three illnesses are coronary artery disease (32 per cent); diabetes (21 per cent); and respiratory disease (27 per cent). The ministry will work with Labour and Industry ministries to set the criteria for a disease-free working environment and issue guidelines for employers to take care of workers who spend 53,000 hours at the workplace. It will also campaign for healthy food, no smoking and stress-reduction activities. In the first year, the project will focus on three multinational firms, namely Honda, Toyota and Canon.

The World Health Organisation said 1,900 million working-age people - including 170 million child labourers - were at risk of health problems.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

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10,000 tablets to be delivered

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Information and Communications Technology Ministry said yesterday that the government will receive the delivery of 10,000 tablet computers tomorrow.

Captain Suraphol Navamawat, an adviser to the ICT minister, said Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development is aiming to deliver all 400,000 tablets by August 18.

Meanwhile, the ICT Ministry has changed the customs documents to show that the tablets were bought by the Education Ministry as educational tools so the import tax can be waived.

The arrival schedule of the 10,000 tablets was postponed from today to tomorrow, because the site where they are meant to be stored was not ready, he added.

From next month, the supplier will ship 12,288 tablets every day for four days a week. Another contract for buying 500,000 more tablet computers has already been signed, and the company will start sending them one week after the initial order of 400,000 tablets has been completed, Suraphol said.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

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Assets of exam cheats to be seized

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The police is seeking to confiscate the assets of those who offered to help applicants cheat in the recent police-recruitment examination.

"Our investigation is progressing well and this week we will focus on asset seizure," National Police Office spokesman Maj-General Piya Utayo said yesterday.

According to Provincial Police Region 3 deputy commissioner Maj-General Jaktip Holasutasakul, 13 suspects have already been arrested for allegedly providing exam-cheating services.

Pol Snr Sergeant-Major Wachiranusorn Pongpan and Pol Sergeant Prasarn Wongcha have also been found involved and will be suspended from duty soon.

"There are two other suspects on the run as well," Jaktip said.

The police force held recruitment exams in many regions on June 10 to fill vacancies for non-commissioned staff and many of the applicants were found carrying devices that were allegedly used to indicate answers.

Piya said the police force would hold a new examination with new questions.

"We will also use some technology in a bid to prevent any more cheating," he said.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, a suspect in the cheating scam told police that he had not received anything from the alleged service providers.

"I just met one of the gang members and she promised that she would help my relatives secure a post in the police force," Boonjan Kosarnkhun, 41, said.

He said as many as 21 of his relatives had sought to use the services offered by this gang, which demanded between Bt300,000 and Bt500,000.

"I've heard that thousands have used the services of this gang. The applicants don't need to pay the entire fee right away," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

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1,000 warehouses dangerous: BMA

THANATPONG KHONGSAI

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- At least 1,000 chemical/hazardous product warehouses are at a higher-than-acceptable risk and their managers should strictly supervise operations to prevent an accident, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said yesterday.

Full story:

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DNP to demolish large resort in Wang Nam Kheow

PONGPHON SARNSAMAK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Next month the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation will demolish one of the largest resorts in Nakhon Ratchasima's Wang Nam Kheow district because it is encroaching into 70 rai of Tab Lan National Park, DNP director-general Damrong Phidej said.

The court had ordered the demolition of this resort earlier, but the owner appealed and asked the Council of State to see if this land could be rented from the DNP. However, the council ruled that national parkland could not be rented at all.

"We gave the owner a chance to appeal and waited for a decision from the Council of State. Now we could legally demolish this resort," Damrong said, adding that the resort owner had pleaded with him as well.

"But we have to demolish other resorts as well," he said, adding that eight private resorts were also going to be torn down for the same reason.

Previously, the DNP was planning to demolish 403 other resorts encroaching on national parks, but was only able to tear down three of them because it had to wait for the court verdict.

In a related report, Damrong said he had previously asked the government to allocate funds to set up some 400 forest-protection units, but the government only allowed the DNP to establish just 100 units nationwide to protect more than 100 million rai (16 million hectares) of forested areas. These protection units will be set up next year.

Damrong said that after visiting several countries including Kenya, the United States and Canada over the past month, he decided he would suggest that the government allow the private sector to manage national parks. This way, he said, the DNP could oversee the construction of structures so the ecosystem of the area is not damaged. Also, he said, the private operators would have to give DNP 50 per cent of their profit.

He said this would help ease the burden on DNP staff who have to handle tourism service and hospitality management at present.

"DNP staff should be working to protect the forests, not providing services for tourists," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

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Bomb hits border patrol, 1 killed

The Nation

NARATHIWAT: -- A border-patrol police officer was killed and two others seriously wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Tambon Sa Kor, Narathiwat's Si Sakhon district, on Tuesday, police said yesterday.

The three officers were in an armoured truck on a teacher- protection mission along with Si Sakhon police, when the home-made bomb in two cooking gas cylinders, buried in the middle of the road, went off. Pol Snr Sgt-Major Prasit Phankhamkerd, 44, was killed while Pol Sub-Lieutenant Supakorn Polthasri, 57, and Pol Snr Sgt-Major Winai Ratchasimuang, 44, were seriously injured.

They were reported in a stable condition at Narathiwat Rachanakarin Hospital.

Si Sakhon superintendent Pol Colonel Kowit Rattanachote said intelligence had reported for a week that an insurgent group led by "Bang Sof Tohleunoh" planned to carry out a bomb attack on officials.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

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Pheu Thai MP wonders why court named him as defendant

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An MP from the ruling Pheu Thai Party yesterday expressed his suspicion at the Constitution Court's decision to name him and certain other government MPs as defendants in a case against the proponents of charter amendment bills.

Full story:

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Rumblings of discontent in Banharn's party

By Piyanart Srivalo

BANGKOK: -- Having just one person to manage and make decisions in a political party can bring both good and bad results for the party's membership.

Full story:

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ORIENT THAI

Orient Thai welcomes return to Don Mueang

Bamrung Amnatcharoenrit

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Orient Thai Airlines Co says it welcomes the move to make Don Mueang Airport Bangkok's hub for low-cost airlines, saying it is ready to return to this base from Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Full story:

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Democrats accuse Sunisa of slander

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Democrat Party yesterday sued Sunisa Lertpakawat, deputy Pheu Thai Party spokeswoman, for slander after she gave 13 reasons the ruling party doesn't want to work with the opposition party.

Rames Rattana-chaweng, a member of the Democrats' legal team, said the statements made by Sunisa were very serious, such as the "Democrat Party ordered the Army to kill protesters in the 2010 riot" and "Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva is an army deserter".

"I don't think those words came from an ex-soldier of the Royal Thai Army, and those accusations are all lies. The Democrat Party never orders anyone to kill people and Abhisit's case has been explicitly explained for a very long time," Rames said.

The person who should be blamed for this is the one who doesn't submit to legal punishment and fled from the judicial process, he said.

"The 13 reasons that Sunisa has noted are all calumnies and we have to indict her on 13 counts to show that politicians should tell the truth and should be reasonable in making public announcements," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

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BREAKING NEWS

Australian stabbed in heart in Thai bag-snatch tragedy

PHUKET: -- An Australian woman has been stabbed to death in a suspected bag-snatch gone wrong on the popular holiday island of Phuket in Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....snatch-tragedy/

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NAVIGATION APP

Garmin's Thailand-specific navigation app launched

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Garmin Corporation yesterday launched its Thailand-specific StreetPilot Onboard navigation application starting with Apple's iOS platform.

Full story:

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THAI

Piyasvasti files lawsuit over 'unfair' firing

The Nation

Piyasvasti

BANGKOK: -- Thai Airways International's former president Piyasvasti Amranand will today file a lawsuit against the company's "unfair dismissal order", which terminated his employment contract a year before it was due to expire.

Full story:

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Facebook provides rare peek at how site is policed

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters): -- Facebook Inc offered a rare peek on Tuesday at one facet of the elaborate system it uses to police its 900 million-user social network, as it attempts to keep it free of content it deems offensive, illegal or just plain inappropriate.

Full story:

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PM, husband give alms to nine monks at her residence to mark her 45th birthday; son gives paper folding piano as present /MCOT

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,165.10, down 8.14 points /MCOT

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No order to open fire on the crowds in 2010: Abhisit

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has denied his government had ordered troops to open fire on the crowds in connection with the bloodshed at Rajdamnoen Avenue on April 10, 2010.

Full story:

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PM gives alms to monks to mark her 45th birthday

BANGKOK, June 21 – Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra this morning gave alms to nine Buddhist monks to mark her 45th birthday today.

Ms Yingluck, her husband Anusorn Amornchat and her son Supasek Amornchat together gave alms to nine monks at their residence in Soi Yothinpattana 3, Ramintra Navamin to mark her 45th birthday today.

Her son Supasek gave his mother a paper folding piano as a present with his handwriting on it blessing her every happiness and to live forever young for 2,000 years. He also wished Ms Yingluck to work smoothly as head of the government.

Ms Yingluck did not say she wanted anything special but said she was proud that her son gave his present. He is 10 years old.

This was the first time that the media coverage was allowed inside her home since she officially assumed the post of prime minister. Some 100 riot police were deployed to ensure her safety and security in and around her home. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-06-21

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Land grab graft probe targets 'Ocean View 16'

Phuket Gazette

The PACC team in front of an unoccupied hillside home in the alleged encroachment area in the Phuket’s Kamala Hills, north of Patong.

Dusadee Arayawuth, secretary-general of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), during his inspection of the disputed area.

PHUKET: -- THE Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) will recommend that legal charges be pressed against 16 current and former Phuket officials, all alleged to have conspired to encroach on state forest land high in the Kamala Hills north of Patong Beach.

Full story: